The present invention generally relates to information technology, and more particularly relates to unified messaging.
Many telecommunication companies now offer a voicemail service. In a conventional home use of voicemail service, a subscriber or other user is provided with a voicemail mailbox number (usually the subscriber""s home telephone number) and a voicemail access number, different from their home telephone number. By calling this voicemail access number, the subscriber is prompted to enter their voicemail mailbox number and an associated password to access their voicemail. However, if a subscriber were to place such a call from a telephone number associated with the voicemail mailbox number (e.g., calling their home voicemail from their home telephone), then only the password need be entered by the subscriber to access their voicemail. When using such a voicemail associated telephone number, a subscriber may be audibly notified of voicemail, of which there may be one or more messages, by a xe2x80x9cstutter dial tonexe2x80x9d or frequency-shift-keyed (FSK) tones. This audible signal is conventionally sent in place of a more familiar dial tone to a subscriber""s telephone. This type of message notification service is an xe2x80x9coff-hookxe2x80x9d type, namely, the subscriber""s telephone is taken xe2x80x9coff-hookxe2x80x9d to listen for presence of an audible message notification signal.
Alternatively, there are xe2x80x9coff-hookxe2x80x9d devices, which may be coupled to a telephone or incorporated with a telephone, that allow such notification to be visually detected, as opposed to audibly detected, by a subscriber. For example, a telephone is put in an xe2x80x9coff-hookxe2x80x9d state to detect a xe2x80x9cstutter dial tone,xe2x80x9d and if such a stutter dial tone is detected, then a visual notification (e.g., an illuminated light-emitting diode (LED)) is use to provide an indication to the subscriber of the presence of voicemail. However, this approach still does employ taking the subscriber""s telephone number off-hook (e.g., making the service otherwise unavailable or xe2x80x9cbusyxe2x80x9d) and provides limited information with respect to number of messages, calling party origin, and the like.
Some newer telephones are capable of receiving FSK information while in an xe2x80x9con-hookxe2x80x9d state. Such FSK information may be transmitted from a xe2x80x9cCentral Officexe2x80x9d (CO). By way of example, a CO may notify a subscriber of voicemail by sending FSK signals to the subscriber""s telephone. This FSK information may appear as a visual indicator of voicemail present, such as on a liquid crystal display (LCD), for the subscriber. However, not all COs support FSK transmission of this sort, and subscribers will have to purchase newer telephones. Moreover, other telecommunication offerings include fax mail and e-mail messaging, and thus a subscriber may have to access three separate mailboxes to collect all the messages.
However, advent of the Internet Protocol (IP) and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) allows for network-based unified messaging services. Such unified messaging combines voicemail, fax mail, and e-mail. So a subscriber or customer may access through a personal computer, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) phone, cellular phone, personal data assistant, World Wide Web television, or like device capable of accessing the Internet one mailbox capable of having all three types of messages. To offer a cost effective unified messaging service, message service providers are centralizing messaging platforms to serve multiple areas on a regional basis. Such a regional basis may be defined geographically, nationally, demographically, or otherwise. Access to such a centralized messaging platform may be provided through a local Internet Service Provider (ISP), an ISP""s local access point-of-presence (POP), an message service providers"" local access POP, an enterprise network, a virtual private network, among others.
Currently in the United States, Regional Telephone (xe2x80x9cBellxe2x80x9d) Operating Companies dominate voicemail services owing at least in part to their xe2x80x9cLocal Loopxe2x80x9d control. However, by providing a unified messaging service over the Internet, subscribers may choose solutions other than those offered by the Local Telephone Company. Unfortunately, dial tone, whether stutter dial tone or FSK tone(s), is controlled by the Local Telephone Company, so using such dial-tone to alert a subscriber of one or more messages may not be used in the above-described unified messaging service. Moreover, some sort of message alert, whether audible or visual, is a key feature of any messaging service.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a unified messaging service having an audible or a visual alert to indicate presence of one or more new messages that uses dial-tone.
The present invention provides method and apparatus for unified messaging. More particularly, the present invention provides a messaging interface configured to provide an indication of a number of messages for each of a plurality of message types. The messaging interface may be operatively coupled to a messaging server. The messaging server is programmed with an application program for selectively accessing a database of mailboxes and for providing an indication of mailbox status. Connectivity between messaging interface and messaging server may include converting a public switched telephone network call to a voice over internet protocol call. The plurality of message types may be selected from voicemail, fax mail, e-mail, data mail, video mail, picture mail and videoconference mail. The messaginng interface may be disposed within a point-of-presence, and the messaging server may be disposed within a remote unified messaging network.
Advantageously, the present invention provides a visual and/or an audible indication of status of messages of different types for a message store associated with a subscriber. This may be accomplished with dual tone multiple frequency or frequency shift keyed tone sequences. By using dial tone, standard twisted pair telephone wiring may be used for connectivity. Moreover, a unified messaging service as disclosed herein may be provided nationally or internationally without necessarily being provided by a regional telephone operating company.
These and other features, advantages, objects and embodiments of the present invention will become more apparent from reading the following Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments or by practicing the present invention.